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FROM: http://www.washingtonpost.com
BUSH
IS READY TO GO WITHOUT U.N.
But U.S. to Seek Security
Council Vote Next Week
By Dana Milbank and Mike
Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 7, 2003;
Page A01
President Bush said last
night he would press ahead with a U.N. Security Council vote on Iraq's
disarmament despite formidable opposition, but he
left no doubt that he would act to oust Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein even without the blessing of the world
body.
"No matter what
the whip count is, we're calling for the vote," the president said
in a news conference in the East Room of the White House, a day after
France, Russia and Germany vowed to oppose the U.S. resolution opening
the way to an attack on Iraq. "We want to see people stand up and
say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and
the utility of the United Nations Security Council.
And so, you bet. It's
time for people to show their cards, let the world know where they stand
when it comes to Saddam."
The rare prime-time news
conference by Bush -- the second of his presidency and the first in
17 months -- was an effort to regain momentum for the U.S. position
on the eve of chief U.N. weapons inspector
Hans Blix's latest report on Iraq's compliance.
Bush
made clear his view that the inspections process
has become a "willful charade" and that Hussein
was "a cancer inside Iraq." He hinted
that a military attack could be imminent.
"After next week
-- we'll just wait and see," he said. "When it comes to our
security, we really don't need anybody's
permission."
Yet Bush's appearance
was markedly subdued in an atmosphere designed to reassure Americans
and allies that the administration's position was thoughtful and not
rash. He spoke softly and slowly in a tone of sad resignation, eschewing
the folksy phrases and "cowboy" rhetoric that often
punctuate his off-the-cuff remarks.
Instead, he
delivered little new information and repeated passages from recent speeches
on Iraq, sprinkling his remarks with qualifiers
and reassurance.
Bush, in his 52-minute
appearance, voiced the word "hope"
16 times and said eight times that he would only wage war "if we
have to."
In a gesture to his overseas
critics, Bush repeatedly used the word "peace" or "peacefully,"
declaring that his goal is peace,
that Iraq is a threat to peace and that if Hussein were forcibly disarmed,
it would be "in the name of peace."
"I
pray for peace," Bush said. "I pray for peace."
Yet while carefully qualifying
his remarks at times, Bush at several points
spoke of war as a fait accompli. In his discussion of a budget
request for the cost of his war, which his staff has said will be sent
to Congress only after hostilities begin, Bush said: "In
terms of the dollar amount, well, we'll let you know here pretty soon."
At
one point, he said flatly: "We will be changing the regime of Iraq
for the good of the Iraqi people."
Bush also
suggested the inevitability of war when he said he thinks
constantly about the responsibility of committing troops. "I believe
we'll prevail. I know we'll prevail," he said.
As for inspections, Bush
left no room for discussion. "It makes no sense to allow this issue
to continue on and on in the hopes that Saddam Hussein disarms,"
Bush said. "We gave him a chance. As a matter of fact, we gave
him 12 years of chances."
The
president repeatedly spoke of the national sovereignty of the United
States, a signal that he would not be bound
by international opposition to his Iraq campaign.
"Saddam
Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country,"
he said, also vowing, "I will not leave
the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons."
At one point, Bush raised
his right hand as if taking the presidential oath, a gesture he made
at the close of each of his campaign speeches. "My job is to protect
America, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," he said. "People
can ascribe all kinds of intentions. I swore to protect and
defend the Constitution. And that's exactly what I am going to do."
Bush spoke just hours
before today's crucial report to the Security Council by Blix, who told
reporters this week that Baghdad has become increasingly cooperative.
The United States predicament
in the Security Council has been growing by the day. France,
Russia and Germany said jointly this week that they would work to defeat
a resolution that authorized war, and China has strongly backed their
position.
Great Britain, which
introduced the resolution with the United States, said yesterday that
it was willing to negotiate the wording to gain supporters.
Bush said the United
States is "days away from resolving this issue at the Security
Council," making it clear that he does
not plan to participate in any protracted debate over changes.
"This is the last phase of diplomacy," he said. "A little
bit more time? Saddam Hussein has had 12 years to disarm."
The president followed
a script of names in choosing which reporters could ask him a question,
and he received generally friendly questioning.
Asked about his faith,
Bush said he prays daily "for guidance and wisdom and strength,"
and said he found it comforting to know so many people were praying
for him. "It's a humbling experience to think that people I will
never have met have lifted me and my family up in prayer," he said.
Not a single question
was asked about al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, homeland security or
the economy.
The only time the questioning
left Iraq was when Bush was asked about North Korea, which has rising
nuclear ambitions and is believed by U.S. intelligence officials to
be planning further provocations such as last weekend's interception
of an Air Force surveillance plane. Bush said China, South Korea, Japan
and Russia must join the U.S. and "stand up to their responsibility"
to convince Kim Jong Il "that the development
of a nuclear arsenal is not in his nation's interests."
"This
is a regional issue," Bush said. "I say a regional
issue because there's a lot of countries that have got a direct stake
into whether or not North Korea has nuclear weapons."
Bush repeated some of
the updated allegations of Iraqi obstruction,
several of which were offered Wednesday by
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
Bush said some biological
and chemical weapons agents have been moved every 12 to 24 hours,
or placed in vehicles in residential neighborhoods. He also asserted
that Iraqi scientists in interviews with inspectors are required to
wear concealed recording devices.
Bush's aides have said
they have no hope that Hussein will go into exile, but Bush raised that
possibility as an acceptable solution. "I hope he leaves the country,"
he said. "I hear a lot of talk from different nations around where
Saddam Hussein might be exiled. That would be fine with me, just
so long as Iraq disarms after he's exiled."
Bush, stung by the focus
on the U.S. failure to catch bin Laden, was asked twice if success in
Iraq was contingent on capturing or killing Hussein.
He
did not answer directly. "If we go to war, there will
be a regime change," he said. "And replacing this cancer inside
of Iraq will be a government that represents
the rights of all the people, a government which represents
the voices of the Shia and Sunni and the Kurds."
Despite Turkey's vote
not to allow the basing of U.S. troops for an attack on Iraq, Bush asserted
that the denial "won't cause any more hardship for our troops"
if the decision is not reversed.
Yet even with some 250,000
troops in the region prepared to strike Iraq, Bush said the decision
was still Hussein's.
"It's
his choice to make whether or not we got to war," Bush
said. "He's the person that can make the
choice of war or peace. Thus far he's made the wrong choice."
© 2003 The Washington
Post Company
FROM: http://www.washingtonpost.com
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